Ain’t Nothin’ Wrong with Flirtin’
by lightwarai
Summary: Response to "Unrequited Love" challenge. Whoever said flirting was a bad thing?


**Disclaimer**: I don't know George or Joe.

**Author's Note: This is in response to the challenge made by LazyPanther in the "Story Ideas" forum. Since I love LazyP, I'm attempting this one-shot. Hope you like it. If not, well... please give me some very constructive criticism. :) Also, this takes place pre-Cactus Canyon Conspiracy (not one of my favorite books). YES this was an old Challenge but I just found it in my "ideas" folder on my computer this weekend. LazyP, I'm sooooo sorry! I know this doesn't exactly follow the challenge, but … it's something, right?**

Ain't Nothin' Wrong with Flirtin'

by lightwarai

Eighteen-year-old Georgia Fayne panted lightly as she shook her mop of brown curls, throwing droplets outward. Sweat slid down her back, neck and arms as she laughed lightly at her running partner, Joe Hardy. 

George, as she preferred to be called, perfectly suited for her tomboyish attitude and appearance, grinned as she playfully punched Joe on the shoulder. "C'mon, you have to admit, I beat you this time!"

Joe, seventeen, blue-eyed, and shaking his own head of blonde curls, retorted, "Whatever. If it weren't for that tree root back there, I would have beaten you easily, but instead we tied."

He leaned over and stretched his palms toward the ground, hovering there, and George followed suit. As they stretched after their twenty-mile run, each reflected on the run. They had been invited to run in the twenty-six mile Cactus Marathon in Tucson, Arizona, and had decided to train together whenever possible before the marathon. 

As they stretched, George's eyes shifted towards Joe. Tall, muscular, great-looking, and incredibly flirtatious, he attracted women easily with his infection grin. When they had first met during one of her best friend's globe-trotting adventures, George had been irritated with his personality. To her, Joe Hardy had been just another macho jock who could charm the paint off the walls, and knew it. 

But over the last years, she'd learned how devoted he was to his friends and family, and to fighting crime. But even more recently, since they'd begun training together, she'd begun to see Joe in a new light. And it made her nervous. She felt a special camaraderie with Joe after sharing in many of his own adventures. He was a great workout partner when there was time. He could joke with the best of them. He wasn't afraid to be honest. He was a fantastic athlete. And beneath his sometimes-childish antics, there was a heart of gold.

She wasn't boy-crazy like her cousin was. And she rarely dated anyone. She was quite picky, in fact. She had a list of qualities and expectations she desired in a relationship, and wouldn't settle for less. And Joe actually met many of those…

She suddenly became aware of the heat rising from her cheeks, and knew it wasn't just from the exercise. She kept her head down, and leaned to the side to stretch out her calves, remaining quiet.

"Ugh," Joe groaned. "I don't know if I can run twenty-six miles!"

George couldn't help but grin, feeling the blush subside. "Well, we're almost there. And we've still got plenty of training time before the marathon."

The next moments passed in silence as they finished their cool-down routine. 

George stepped up to the front porch of the Hardy home where her she had left her water bottle and towel. "So, do you think the others have found any leads?"

Joe snorted, thinking on the case they were currently working on. He and George had opted out of researching at the library, letting his brother and her best friend do the tedious work. "Who knows. I'd rather run twenty-six miles than sit in a stale library, reading. That's what school is for."

He tilted his head towards her. "How about we grab a shake at Dairy Queen instead?" 

He gave her a brilliant smile, and she couldn't help but smile back._There it is_, she thought, _that Hardy charm. _

"A shake, huh? I thought you were working on rock-hard abs?" Although she tried to keep her tone casual, she couldn't keep a little flirting out of her teasing remark.

Joe just shrugged and winked back at her. "You don't tell my abs, and I won't tell yours."

_What's the harm in a little flirting,_ she asked herself. _I'm a girl, after all._ She grinned at Joe. "You're on, Hardy. And since it was your suggestion, I'll even let you pay." 

Joe sputtered, "Hey, now! Shouldn't the winner pay for the loser's…" he trailed off, realizing what that meant. 

"Gotcha!" George declared as she took off down the sidewalk. "I'll see you there, loser!"

"FAYNE!"


End file.
